I had these recently at Rusha’s in Devon where we spent our summer holiday. We spent the afternoon at Strete Beach, along the coastal beach in Dartmouth, Devon. In the late afternoon, we came back to Rusha’s place where we sat in her magical kitchen around a tiny, round table warmed by her Aga stove, listening to the pitter-patter of rain outside, sipping rooibush tea while she prepared a meal for us. It included these wonderful, sweetcorn pancakes.
This is what I wrote to a friend after that day
–
woke to a misty sort of day
dosa and sambar with Lulu and Rusha
at our place
then onwards to the beach
with it’s tiny coloured pebbles
zillions of them
racing dark clouds
freezing cold water
and they went swimming anyway
back to Rusha’s magical home
an amazing dinner prepared with love
a colourful mix match of antique plates and forks
sweet corn and chard pancakes
babaganoush in a big, earthy bowl
roasted red pepper and melon sprinkled with ruby jewels of pomegranate
dessert strawberries and clotted cream sprinkled with sugar
–
Ponsworthy in Devon, England
sweetcorn chard fritters
Serves 4
ingredients
2 fresh corn cobs
¾ cup chickpea flour
½ – ¾ cup water
½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp rock salt
½ green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
freshly ground black pepper
huge handful spinach, kale or silverbeet and lightly steamed (about 1 cups chopped)
a handful of finely chopped coriander
olive oil/ghee for frying
preparation
1. Cut corn off the cobs until you have about 2 cups.
2. You can either purchase the chickpea flour already made or make your own by putting about 1½ cups dried chickpeas in your blender and grind on high for a few minutes until the flour stops falling into the middle of the container (you will understand this once you do it). Pour the blender contents out into a fine-mesh sieve and sift until fine gram and course legume bits are separated. You should have less than 1 cup of fine chickpea flour.
3. Heat a little ghee/oil in a small pan, add cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds, then add the chilli – remove from heat and set aside.
4. Combine chickpea flour with coriander powder, cumin seeds, turmeric, salt and pepper. Pour in the water to make a smooth paste – allow to sit for 5 minutes.
5. Add corn kernels and finely chopped steamed kale, spinach or silverbeet and coriander -mix until well incorporated.
Optional – take ½ cup of batter and process for 10 – 15 secs. Transfer back to the bowl. If it looks a little dry, add more water. You can experiment with the texture while cooking. I find if the mixture is quite moist, it handles better.
6. Heat a skillet, drizzle a little olive oil or ghee and add a heaped tablespoon of mixture to the skillet – flatten slightly with a spoon.
7. Fry corn cakes until golden on one side, then flip to cook other side. It is important that the heat is high enough to create a good sizzle, without being too high that it cooks the outside before the inside is ready. Turn over and cook for a further 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and eat immediately.
Serve the pancakes topped with a little of this salad and spicy guacamole or hummus.
Goodness shared by Stacey
